You might not see leaves as hazards, but train operators would beg to differ -- foliage on the tracks not only makes it harder for trains to stop, but also messes with anti-collision signals. The greenery might not be much of a danger for much longer, however. Dutch Railways is testing a laser system that zaps leaves (and other organic material) before it reaches the wheels, keeping the tracks clean. You can already use water jets and sand gels to do this, but they have limited supplies and sometimes damage the rails. The lasers run so long as the train has power, and they actually help the metal by drying it and preventing leaves from sticking.

Lian-Li is a fan of odd-looking PC cases, but the boxes have usually had a tendency to remain stationary. The CK-101 takes away that one certainty: the design stuffs a fully functioning PC case with hard drive bays, a slim optical drive and USB 3.0 ports into an on-the-move model of a steam engine train. There's more than a few questions about how it works -- including whether or not it needs a battery to stay rolling, and just what's generating the 'steam' -- but it's already apparent from the video (below) that wired peripherals won't be much fun if you're chasing your computer down the tracks. There's a chance that Lian-Li will be selling a considerably more fixed-in-place version; we'll know more when the CK-101 is shown off at Computex in early June, where there will also be a show-specific, SUV-like Q15 case to sate your appetite for very literal car computers.

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Tue, 29 May 2012 20:46:00 -040021|20246798http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/23/sol-republic-intros-amps-and-tracks-headphone-lines-we-go-hands/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/23/sol-republic-intros-amps-and-tracks-headphone-lines-we-go-hands/http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/23/sol-republic-intros-amps-and-tracks-headphone-lines-we-go-hands/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23comments
Oh my is this interesting. Monster Cable's VP of marketing Kevin Lee (a key figure involved with its Beats by Dre headphone line) has co-founded a new headphone company dubbed Soundtrack Of Life Republic, and we were able to get a very brief hands-on with some handmade prototypes. It's no secret that we're not fans of Monster around these parts, but being that SOL Republic isn't directly tied to it -- and because the headphones bring with them some interesting features without being crazy expensive -- we've decided to give them a quick whirl. It's all detailed just past the break. Gallery-131400

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Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:03:00 -040021|20014568http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/04/psp-playing-boy-falls-onto-train-tracks-saved-by-a-real-life-he/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/04/psp-playing-boy-falls-onto-train-tracks-saved-by-a-real-life-he/http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/04/psp-playing-boy-falls-onto-train-tracks-saved-by-a-real-life-he/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23comments
Not the best news for Sony execs to be waking up to this morning, as the company's PSP has played a starring role in an unfortunate, though thankfully innocuous, incident. A 10-year old Milanese boy was recently so absorbed by his portable's make.believe world that he forgot the real one around him had boundaries with bright lines painted around them. A moment later the young gamer found himself next to the train tracks a few feet below the platform designed for human occupation, though he wasn't there long as an off-duty policeman by the name of Alessandro Micalizzi quickly leapt down and lifted him to safety. See it on video below and feel free to draw your own conclusions about your gaming habits.